---
title: Is a Metallurgical Engineering degree worth the debt?
cip: 1420
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is a Metallurgical Engineering degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **3** colleges (3 of 3 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $68,679 ($67,420 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $25,745 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.37× a first year's pay


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bachelor's | $68,679 | $25,745 | 0.37× | 3 | 3/3 |

## Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Missouri University of Science and Technology (MO) | $72,706 | $27,000 |
| Colorado School of Mines (CO) | $68,679 | $25,745 |
| The University of Texas at El Paso (TX) | $61,588 | $20,490 |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/metallurgical-engineering.jsonld` · `/education/fields/metallurgical-engineering.json`